Bryan County football coach Cherard Freeman isn’t one to sit around and ponder on the what ifs. He instead, like any other coach worth his salt, prefers to focus on the present and what he needs to do to get better for the future.
Freeman, however, couldn’t be blamed if he took a look at this Friday’s state football playoffs schedule and pondered, “What if?”
Two Region 3-A-DII teams, Screven County and Jenkins County, find themselves in the Elite Eight after posting wins last Friday night. As the region champion and No. 1 seed Screven is right where it was expected to be.
Jenkins County has advanced as a No. 3 seed, a position the Redskins would have had if they had beaten Metter in their final game of the season. Instead, it was a night in which Bryan County was out of sync from the outset and wound up playing its worst game of the season in a 35-0 loss.
“It’s what it is,” Freeman said as he announced Bryan County players who were selected to the all-region football team. “We had our chance and now we’ve got to turn our attention to getting ready for a strong region.”
Bryan County had seven first-team selections, three on offense and four on defense and three players were named to the region’s all-academic team.
Running backs Gerbravion Collins and Anddreas McKinney along with offensive lineman Nathan Long were the offensive team selections. Earning defensive honors were defensive lineman Corey Collier, linebackers Zane Renteria and Eli Koskela and defensive back Ryan Harrington.
Collier, Long and Will Summerford were the all-academic picks. Collier and Koskela, who is also a baseball standout, are juniors while all the others are seniors.
This was the second straight year Collins, McKinny and Renteria were first team picks. Long, Collier and Koskela were second team selections last year. Long and Renteria were on the second team two years ago as sophomores.
A win over the Tigers would have given Bryan County the region’s No. 3 seed and what Freeman felt would be an easy path to the Elite Eight. Jenkins County has obviously proved that theory correct and is now in the quarterfinals for the second straight year. It will be played at Bowdon.
Freeman gave his players the week off following the Metter game and put them back to work in the weight room. Next fall will represent a new challenge as the Redskins move up to Class 2A and a couple of powerful new region opponents in Calvary Day School and Savannah Christian.
“The boys needed that break because they had been going at it hard since May,” Freeman said. “In our off-season workouts we’ll be working on flexibility, strength, speed…it’s going to be a lot of hard work. They know what to expect.”
Bryan County had appealed the move up but was denied by the GHSA and now finds itself in a region which will have as football playing members the Redskins, Savannah High, CDS, Savannah Christian, Metter and Screven County. The Gamecocks will be playing in the state semis on Friday against Early County.
Other schools in the region include St. Vincent’s Academy, Savannah Arts and Woodville-Tompkins. Swainsboro was originally placed in the region but successfully appealed to be placed in Region 2.
Based on enrollment figures as of this past Oct. 1 Bryan County will be one of the smallest schools in Class 2A as it continues to decline in enrollment despite being located in one of the fastest growing counties in the state.
While Richmond Hill’s enrollment has soared Bryan County has lost more than 100 students in the last six years. The school had 490 students on Oct. 1, five of them classified as out of district, per numbers reported to GHSA for an official count of 500. Out of district students are subject to a multiplier of two.
Richmond Hill is the third largest school in Region 1-6A with 2,762 students, 22 out of district, for a count of 2,806. Lowndes was the largest school in the region with 3,153 followed by Camden County at 2,850.
A change in classification will not be the only major change in football next fall for all teams as the current formula of taking the top four teams in the region has been replaced by the Postseason Rankings Formula (PSR). Region finishes, other than finishing first, will no longer matter.
Aside from region champs being guaranteed a top 16 spot in the seeding process the other 16 berths will be determined by a strength of schedule formula which will not only include the winning records of opponents but the records of teams those opponents played.
If that process had been in place this season, for example, both Bryan County and Metter would have been in the playoffs giving Region 3 six teams in the race for a championship.
“I felt our region was one of the strongest in the state and I think that proves it,” Freeman said. “The GHSA got it right when they did this. We’ve got some regions in the state that are really weak and you’ve got teams in the playoffs ahead of teams who are better.”